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DALLAS - The UC San Diego fencing teams were back in action over the Martin Luther King holiday, with UCSD's top fencers competing in the prestigious North American Cup in Dallas.

The individual U.S. Fencing tournament featured some of the best fencers in North America, with several competitors with Olympic experience on hand. The North American Cup was also one of the largest fencing competitions ever held in the United States, with as many as 250 fencers competing in some of events.

The tournament proved to be an excellent opportunity for the Tritons to cross swords with a variety of opponents and gain valuable experience fencing at the highest level of the sport in preparation for the NCAA Championships in late March.

Most of UCSD's representatives in the competition had mid-range performances, with the Tritons winning roughly half of their bouts in the opening pool round and then falling in first or second elimination bouts.

The one exception was freshman Brennan Louie, who had an exceptional day in Division I men's foil. After a slow start in pools, Louie progressed through four rounds of direct elimination, including a victory over the 10th seed in a close 15-14 bout. Louie was finally defeated by Alexander Massialas, a member of the U.S. World Team, and finished 16th out of a total of 194 fencers. With the result, he earned a ranking on the U.S. senior's points list.

Nick Bartuzik also had a good result for UCSD, as the freshman finished 42nd out of 162 competitors in D-I men's sabre. James Galamba also fared well, placing 82nd in a large men's epee field of 258 fencers.

The Tritons will now have almost three weeks to prepare for their biggest team meet of the season at the Northwestern Invitational February 5-6 in Evanston, Ill. There, UCSD will face some of the strongest collegiate teams in the country.